Today, I'm thrilled to welcome back to the Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, Mary Jane Maffini. Mary Jane is sharing her homemade chocolate pudding with caramel sauce, toasted hazelnuts and whipped cream. Yum! She's also going to share information about her new book and there's a giveaway!
Hello, everyone! It feels wonderful to be able to visit you all again at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I’d like to add a special thank you to Valerie Burns for inviting me.
Today,
I am kicking up my heels to celebrate the launch of the sixth in my Charlotte
Adams series.
Death Plans a Perfect Trip (Charlotte Adams number 6) will take you on a mysterious and high-stakes jaunt with Charlotte and Jack through Paris, Lisbon and Northern Italy, specifically the wine country of Piedmont and the enchanting villages of Cinque Terre. Along the way, you’ll find danger, suspense and plenty of good food. This recipe is inspired by two staples of the beautiful Italian region of Piedmont: chocolate and hazelnuts. After all, this region is the home of Ferrero Rocher. I enjoyed a dessert much like this in a lovely hilltop restaurant there and tried to duplicate it. I had additional inspiration from a recipe by Christine Cushing, one of my favorite cookbook authors. I promise that this knock-out dessert is well-worth every minute that you invest in it. It blew everyone’s mind when I served it. Extra bonus: I will probably make both the silky chocolate pudding and the very easy caramel sauce on their own from time to time and will continue to jazz up whipped cream with Frangelico: so three recipes in one really.
As
for you: here’s a question: do you like a little travel mixed in with your
mysteries? There are no right or wrong answers and I will be offering a copy of
Death Plans a Perfect Trip to one lucky commenter.
Ready,
set, go!
Homemade chocolate pudding with caramel sauce, toasted hazelnuts and whipped cream
INGREDIENTS
3 1/4 cups milk, divided
2 tsp. good quality vanilla
3 large or extra-large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped finely
1 tbsp butter
3 tablespoons Frangelico liqueur (you could use
another liqueur or different flavoring)
CARAMEL
1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) 35% cream
WHIPPED CREAM
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) 35% cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Frangelico
HAZELNUT GARNISH
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, peeled and chopped
DIRECTIONS: Scald the 3 cups milk in a heavy-bottom
medium saucepan over medium low heat with sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch. Add the hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly and then pour back into pot.
Cook the pudding gently over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon for one to two minutes or until mixture thickens and boils. Change to a whisk towards the end of stirring to ensure a smooth cream. Remove from heat. Whisk in the chopped chocolate, butter, vanilla and Frangelico.
Wisk until smooth and silky. Cool if your dishes are not heatproof. Divide pudding among six ramekins, dishes or small bowls and chill, preferably for three hours.
Heat sugar in a heavy-bottom pot until caramel colour.
Remove from heat immediately and add 2/3 cup cream. Let stand for two to three minutes until bubbles subside. Cool, then set aside. You can make this ahead.
Whip cream until peaks begin to hold. Add the icing sugar and Frangelico and continue to whip until smooth.
Add toasted hazelnuts to each serving dish.
Drizzle the top of pudding with caramel. Swirl a little whipped cream on top. Ta dah!
Enjoy! Thanks for coming by. Hope to see
many of you in the comments and on Facebook.
Lapsed librarian and former mystery bookseller Mary
Jane Maffini is the award-winning author of nineteen mysteries, in three and a
half series and two dozen crime shorts. Her Charlotte Adams professional
organizer mysteries have recently been optioned for television. The series has
been reissued by Beyond the Page Publishing and the sixth has just been
released.
MJ’s Camilla MacPhee mysteries are set in Ottawa and
her Fiona Silk capers take place in a quirky village in West Quebec. As
Victoria Abbott, she collaborated on the five collector mysteries (Berkley
Prime Crime) with her daughter, Victoria.
Book Four, The Marsh Madness,
won the 2015 Bony Blithe for mysteries that make us smile.
https://www.facebook.com/maryjane.maffini
https://www.facebook.com/maryjane.maffini.author
Looking to read Death Plans a Perfect
Trip? These links might help!
https://www.amazon.ca/Perfect-Charlotte-Professional-Organizer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09YVNDM5V/
https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Charlotte-Professional-Organizer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09YVNDM5V
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-plans-a-perfect-trip-mary-jane-maffini/1141393052
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/death-plans-a-perfect-trip
